The provision of a variety of storage racks to accomplish specific purposes is a well-developed art. Generally, the overall goal is to maximize storage space while at the same time minimizing usable warehouse space, or in other words, to achieve compactness while at the same time permitting the storage of the greatest number of articles per unit of warehouse space. In many cases, the provision of modularized racks has been deemed to be an improvement in this art field, since modularized racks permit the user the widest latitude possible in terms of the utilization of warehouse space for the desired number of articles. Other types of improved racks permit the vertical stacking of one rack atop the other in order to achieve full utilization of the vertical height of the warehouse space.
With respect to the types of racks utilized for storing articles in a horizontal posture between front and rear supports, several problems are encountered. For example, if a plurality of such racks is employed in a vertical orientation, the user is bounded either by the height of the warehouse space, or the height to which a fork lift truck or other unloading device extends to its ultimate vertical reach. It is therefore been deemed desirable to develop a storage rack which permits for the front loading and unloading of items stored in horizontal alignment while still permitting the maximum utilization of vertical height in warehouse space.
To this end, storage racks having telescopically oriented and coupled sections have been provided whereby the front support posts are telescopically oriented along the vertical axis to permit sequential reduction of height from the front portion of the storage rack and hence permit the front loadng and unloading of articles stored therein. However, when such types of racks are dismantled, storage of these units is rendered difficult. In addition, from a manufacturing and economics standpoint, such types of racks employing telescopic oriented segments generally require a number of parts which are progressively decreasing in diameter, and hence, not of uniform configuration overall.
It is therefore deemed desirable to provide a storage rack which permits full and complete utilization of vertical storage space while at the same time permitting the front loading and unloading of articles stored therein and utilizing relatively standard sized parts. In addition, it is deemed desirable to formulate such storage racks such that the problem of elevating articles over the top of the rack to effect the loading and unloading operation is obviated, whereby the equipment utilized in the loading and unloading operations need not be extended to its ultimate vertical reach. The minimizing or obviating of this problem thereby permits the maximum utilization of vertical storage space while at the same time simplifying the loading and unloading operation.